Ranking The Top 10 Most Important Chicago Bears For The 2024 Season (2024)

With the start of Training Camp inching closer each day, it’s easy to feel excited for the 2024 NFL regular season if you’re a Bears fan. After multiple fruitless years in the past, the playoffs feel like a realistic expectation come January. For that to come to fruition, these 10 players must stand out above the rest. Here are the 10 more important players for the Chicago Bears in 2024.

10. LB Tremaine Edmunds

Just one offseason ago, Chicago went out and handed Edmunds a four-year, $72 million deal in free agency. After three acquisition periods, this contract still stands as the biggest deal general manager Ryan Poles has handed out in free agency.

After a rough start to the 2023 season, Edmunds settled in and played well. The issue: He didn’t play up to his contract status. Considering Poles handed out this deal just a few short months after refusing to give Roquan Smith a similar deal, Edmunds needs to “prove his worth” in 2024. Consistency will go a long way in doing this, but he could also stand to be a bigger force as a blitzer. In total, Edmunds just needs to look closer to his 2022 campaign, which is what got him paid in the first place.

9. CB Tyrique Stevenson

In the last half of his rookie season, Stevenson looked like a Pro Bowl-level player. That’s not a common occurrence for most rookie cornerbacks and could lead to a promising sophom*ore campaign. Because the Bears’ defensive line is still a work in progress, they are going to need their secondary playing at an elite level to maintain their defensive dominance.

Despite struggling for the better part of his first eight games in the league, Stevenson still found a way to lead the team in pass breakups (16) and was tied for the team lead with four interceptions. If Stevenson can take another step in 2024, this secondary could be lethal, especially when it comes to forcing takeaways.

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8. TE Cole Kmet

Kmet has been one of the more consistent offensive contributors for this team over the last three seasons. He was rewarded for his efforts last offseason with a lucrative contract extension and will once again be asked to usher a rookie quarterback into the league. In offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s offense, tight end is vastly important. Kmet will need to provide a reliable safety valve over the middle for his rookie quarterback and will need to continue to be a reliable red-zone target. Because of that, his importance should not be overlooked. Chicago has an impressive three-headed monster at receiver, but the production of this offense’s top tight end will play a monumental role in how successful this unit can be in 2024.

7. DT Gervon Dexter Sr.

The front office and coaching staff have put a lot of their eggs in one basket when it comes to the interior defensive line. Not only did they fail to add a significant name, they allowed Justin Jones to sign a three-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. Because of that, Dexter’s importance as an interior pass rusher has become a focal point of this defense. In his rookie year, he experienced his fair share of ups and downs. On the bright side, he came on strong in more reps at the end of last season. On a more realistic note, Dexter is still a very raw player that needs to be molded. New defensive coordinator Eric Washington will be tasked with turning Dexter from a promising young player into a superstar in the making. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but without a big step in 2024, it’s hard to imagine this defense making the expected leap.

6. WR Keenan Allen

Without knowing the conclusion of this mid-March deal, it appears that Allen is being brought in with the idea of testing the free agent market next March. It’s rarely a great idea to trade a mid-round pick for a player on an expiring deal, but Chicago had a clear goal in mind when acquiring the veteran star receiver. Now, they must see that payoff in real time.

Allen’s best value is getting open. He’s arguably one of the best route runners in the league. What does that translate to for a rookie quarterback? A quarterback’s best friend. Even better, he will be one of many weapons in a suddenly loaded offense. The primary goal is to provide their new quarterback with a reliable target. If Allen comes away with a stat line even close to what he has put up in recent years, he’ll be a huge value to this offense.

5. CB Jaylon Johnson

Just months after being rewarded with a lucrative four-year extension to avoid playing on the franchise tag, Johnson becomes one of the team’s most important defensive players for the foreseeable future. In 2023, he was arguably the league’s best cornerback. His breakout happened in his contract year, but he was tied for the team lead with four interceptions.

Now, he’ll be called upon as the primary leader in a secondary that has a sky-high ceiling. While the hope is that the interceptions will keep coming, his being a lockdown corner that teams don’t want to target provides value. Keeping Johnson healthy and productive for this defense is monumental to their success.

4. DE Montez Sweat

Similar to last year, the defense will revolve around its best player. After being traded from the Washington Commanders on October 31st, the entire Bears defense saw quite the remarkable turnaround. All of this despite them still having one of the lowest pressure percentages in the league. Sweat’s health and production are paramount to this defense’s success. Without him, it’s hard to imagine how they can get after the quarterback effectively. There’s not a whole lot else to be said about Sweat. He’s the key cog in this defense and one that others can feed off of and be better because of.

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3. RT Darnell Wright

Chicago’s offensive line appears on the up and up, but there are still plenty of question marks that surround them. The development of their 2023 10th overall pick is at the forefront of the discussion. Wright had his rookie moments last season but in total, was one of the league’s better rookie offensive tackles. He must take another step in 2024 if they plan to keep their rookie quarterback clean. Wright played the last chunk of games in 2023 with a shoulder injury. The hope is that with a year of experience under his belt and better health, he can quickly become one of the league’s better offensive tackles. If he continues to develop, having the soon-to-be 23-year-old developing in lockstep with a young offense will be a value that cannot be measured in words.

2. WR DJ Moore

At some point over the next year, fans should fully expect the team’s front office to give Moore a lucrative extension to tie him to Chicago for the remainder of his prime years. The former Carolina Panther has been worth his weight in gold. It was very easy to see why he was the cornerstone of last year’s deal for the No. 1 overall pick. From my viewpoint, he’s still the team’s unquestioned No. 1 receiver, and he should be expected to produce as such. Similar to Allen, Moore does a great job of getting open. Despite not being the biggest player on the field, he’s very good at catching balls, even when he doesn’t appear open. Even in a star-studded group of pass catchers, Moore should stand out as the top option for his rookie quarterback.

1. QB Caleb Williams

There could be no other answer for the most important player in 2024, could there be? Poles made the bold yet obvious decision to move on from Justin Fields early in the offseason. Then they spent the next handful of months figuring out who he wanted to spend the No. 1 overall selection on. To nobody’s surprise, it was the former USC product.

It’s hard to argue against the fact that Williams will be stepping into the best situation ever for a No. 1 overall pick. The Bears weren’t your typical “bad” team with the top pick. They also had plenty of resources to add help around him. By all accounts, they’ve done everything right to prepare for a rookie quarterback. They’ve even gone as far as naming him the unquestioned starter before the offseason program started.

Good quarterback play and the Chicago Bears have rarely been uttered in the same sentence, but that can all change now. Williams is full of raw talent and appears to have the right mindset when it comes to learning how to be a successful NFL quarterback. If the Bears can exit 2024 unequivocally, knowing Williams is their quarterback of the future, that’s a big win.

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Honorable Mentions: WR Rome Odunze, CB Kyler Gordon, LT Braxton Jones, S Jaquan Brisker, and P Tory Taylor.

There could only be 10 players on this list, but it does not take away from the importance of other players on this roster. While I expect Odunze to become a top-flight receiver, his impact might be dulled down by the players in front of him. Gordon’s value should not be understated, especially in this defense. Jones is heading into a big Year 3. Despite multiple rumors of the front office wanting an offensive tackle in Round 1, Jones’ play as a former fifth-round selection bought him another year to prove himself worthy of being considered a franchise left tackle.

Brisker’s role should expand this year, and his versatility will be tested. With Eddie Jackson being switched out for Kevin Byard, the former Penn State product should see more time as a deep safety. Finally, Taylor’s value to this team might be mocked, but it shouldn’t be discounted. If he’s half as good as this organization has billed him to be, he could be a game-changing talent when it comes to flipping field position. It’ll take all 53 players on the roster to impact the season, but some stand out as key contributors who must perform well in 2024 if Chicago has any playoff hopes.